Philadelphians Find Nature On The Pathway To Healing From Gun Violence
The way survivors and co-survivors of gun violence are taught to heal from gun violence can be formulaic: talk to your loved ones, seek therapy, and take anti-anxiety medications. But the path to healing isn’t the same for everyone, and these solutions aren’t a fix-all. For many folks seeking a remedy to the emotional pain they have experienced, the key has been access to nature and green spaces.
Our Unbreakable Best: Healing Beyond the System
“I want my story to show others that healing is possible, no matter where you start.”
A profound statement, rooted in love and a deep belief in all things good, from educator and activist Victoria Best.
Now forty-five, Best was thrust into the Philadelphia foster care system after being separated from her biological mother at age 2. On a journey where resilience and survival became necessities, she quickly learned the difference between shelter and belonging after she and her brother were taken in by her uncle’s family.
How to Start Making Change With Those You’d Rather Cancel
Loretta Ross shares her ideas on how to engage in “calling in,” instead of “calling out,” within social justice movements.
From Pain to Prosperity: How to Overcome Money Trauma
As with all traumas, money trauma runs deep, and we are often unaware that we
have it. We might say that we have money problems, but not money trauma, which forms when we take on the beliefs that others have about money. We might have heard from others that money is evil or that you must work hard for money, and that becomes our belief (often, a belief that goes unchecked).
Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter: A Portrait of a Saviour
Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, also known as Isis Tha Savior, creates work that exemplifies the transformative power of art. Her commitment to confronting uncomfortable truths serves as a powerful reminder that the journey of healing, while often fraught with challenges, can lead to profound understanding. As she continues to amplify marginalized voices, she reminds us that art is not just a conversation starter; it’s a catalyst for action and a pathway to justice.
Hacking the Holidays: Getting Involved with Mutual Aid
The principle of mutual aid is not complicated. Our communities contain a remarkable and often overlooked superpower. That is, each of us has something to give and also something to receive, not for charitable or virtuous purposes, but because the power to support and uplift one another is within our control.
Bunmi Samuel Rewrites Resilience
Bunmi Samuel wants you to know that he is doing just fine. Ten years after a 15,000 ft skydiving fall, he is certain that this moment is his: “I am who I say I am. What I said I was going to do, I’ve done. Something tragic didn’t destroy me. I’m better than I’ve ever been.”
Seeking Solutions to Youth Houselessness
It’s easy to write off houselessness as a self-induced result of “laziness” or “addiction” because it doesn’t force us to confront our biases.
Are digital navigators the answer to closing Philadelphia’s tech gap?
As progress inches forward, advocates in the digital equity space agree that navigators play a crucial role in improving access in daily life. Others question if the model is a temporary band-aid, pushing off larger systemic change.
An Uphill Climb to Prosperity: The Journey of a Returning Mother
A wise poet once wrote, “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” This could not be truer for a person who is justice-impacted. As a mother returning from incarceration, life is full of bumps, cracks, and splinters on stairs that bruise as they knock me down one step for every two steps that I climb. My journey from incarceration to stability has been a roller coaster ride since I returned to society nearly two decades ago.
